Tedford Housing’s Response to COVID-19

Tedford Housing

Creating pathways from homelessness to home.

Tedford Housing’s Response to COVID-19

By Leave a Comment

Tedford Housing

We appreciate those who are reaching out asking how they can help. We continue to post our most immediate needs on our Facebook page. However, a monetary donation would help us offset the expenses we are incurring due to the pandemic and will allow us to continue to provide our critical services to our most vulnerable neighbors in the community. Please donate here if you are able.

(Updated April 1, 2020) In response to the ongoing COVID-19 national emergency and the global pandemic, Tedford Housing’s adult shelter will remain open and staffed 24 hours a day through April 30, 2020 to ensure our guests have a safe place be during this challenging time. Our guests will not be asked to leave during the daytime, as is our typical protocol.

At our family shelter and supportive housing complexes, our guests and residents are asked to continue practicing extreme social distancing as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Case management for our guests and outreach clients will be handled remotely by staff as needed.

In an effort to ensure the safety of our guests, staff and volunteers, Tedford Housing has implemented the following additional protocols:

  • All Tedford Housing offices, shelters and supportive housing buildings will remain closed to the public.
  • Only staff and guests will be permitted to enter the shelters without permission of the director of operations or executive director.
  • The shelters have ceased intakes of any new guests.
  • Shelter guests with a fever or other symptoms will be referred for medical care and must show clearance by a medical professional in order to re-enter the shelter.
  • Staff members who have a fever or other symptoms or who have a symptomatic member of their household will be referred for medical care. Staff must show clearance by a medical professional in order to return to work.
  • Non-shelter staff will work remotely as necessary. Access by staff to multiple facilities will be limited.

To contribute needed supplies or food, contact Jennifer Iacovelli, director of development, or donate online.

Tedford Housing may opt to alter its shelter operations at any time. For additional information, contact Rota L. Knott, executive director.

Those who are showing symptoms and do not have a doctor should call the walk-in clinic at 207-406-7500.

Unsheltered Brunswick residents can contact Town of Brunswick general assistance office for help with covering emergency housing costs during the COVID-19 crisis. 207-725-6661.

Nonprofits and Mainers: A Match Made in Heaven

By Leave a Comment

Giving Voice

The following article was published in The Times Record on 2/14/2020 and written by Jennifer Iacovelli, Tedford Housing’s director of development.

As I sat down to write this article, I realized that it would be published on Valentine’s Day. Whether you celebrate the “holiday” or not, it’s a day that’s supposed to be dedicated to love. From the nonprofit perspective, we are always in need of a little love. We’re often looking for support in the form of donations, time and advocacy for the cause we represent.

Coincidently (or maybe not?), Tuesday February 11th was Nonprofit Day. The Maine Association of Nonprofits (MANP) used the day as a way to educate Mainers about the many contributions nonprofits make to our state. Did you know that 1 in 6 Maine workers are employed by a Maine nonprofit? According to MANP’s Adding Impact report, that translates to over 98,000 nonprofit jobs, $4.7 billion annually in wages and approximately $271 million in personal income tax revenue for our state.

In fact, the nonprofit sector is the 5th largest employer in the state of Maine, with healthcare and social service organizations accounting for about 30% of those jobs and hospitals employing 37% of workers in nonprofit jobs. The third largest piece of the nonprofit pie is education at 18%.

By definition, nonprofits are charitable organizations focused on specific missions that benefit the common good. With so many nonprofits in our state, it makes sense that these organizations would need to rely on individuals to donate money to our programs. And we do. Though Tedford Housing has revenue streams coming from private foundations, United Ways, state and federal grants and income/reimbursements from the programs and services we offer to clients, approximately 17% of our fiscal year 2019 budget came directly from individual donors.

Nonprofits are lucky in that individuals in Maine are generous. According to Maine Philanthropy Center’s Giving in Maine 2019 report for individuals, 21% of all Mainers at just about every income level report charitable giving on their taxes. Since not all giving is reported on tax returns, the report also states that it is estimated that 53% of Mainers donated $25 or more to charity in 2016. Individual giving took up the largest piece of total charitable giving in Maine in 2016 at 65%, with foundations being second at 24%.

The bottom line is that nonprofits depend on individuals like you to support our work in Maine communities. These donations not only help us fulfill our missions, but they also support the overall health of our state’s economy. This Valentine’s Day may be a good day to show a little love to a nonprofit you support. There are certainly a number of wonderful nonprofits to support with a donation just in the town of Brunswick.

If you’re not sure which nonprofit is the best match for you, don’t fret. There are some steps you can take to find that match. As a start, think about the organizations you already interact with. If you already have a relationship with a nonprofit, thank them by taking the extra step to make a donation. Do a simple google search to see which nonprofits are doing work in your town. Be sure to visit the nonprofit’s website to make sure its mission aligns with your core beliefs. You can also research nonprofits and their finances on Guidestar.org. When in doubt, pick up the phone and call a local nonprofit to find out more about their work and what support you could provide that would be most helpful to them. As a director of development, I can say I don’t mind at all when people call to ask questions and show interest in making the most impact with a gift.

Will you show a little love to a nonprofit to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

UUCB Concerts for a Cause Features Heather Masse and Jed Wilson on March 14, 2020

By Leave a Comment

Heather Masse will perform at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick on Saturday March 14, 2020 at 7:30 pm as part of the Concerts for a Cause series. Two-thirds of the net proceeds of the series will be donated to Tedford Housing and Oasis Free Clinics. 

Maine native Heather Masse is well-known to audiences as a regular guest on the NPR radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” both as a solo performer and as a member of the Billboard-charting folk supergroup, The Waylin’ Jennys. On the show, Heather has collaborated with artists such as Elvis Costello, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, and Emmylou Harris. She has also performed in many venues and with other popular groups such as the bluegrass band The Wayfaring Strangers on NPR’s World Cafe, and at Boston’s Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops.

For this concert, Heather joins forces with jazz pianist Jed Wilson. Heather and Jed met as jazz students at the New England Conservatory of Music and have been performing together for more than 10 years. Heather’s background is steeped in the jazz tradition, which informs her distinct approach to singing folk, pop and bluegrass. 

Ms. Masse has released 2 CD’s of jazz-inspired folk duets with Mr. Wilson. The title track of her first solo CD “Bird Song” won her 1st prize at the International Acoustic Music Awards. She also won a prestigious Juno Award for “Bright Morning Stars,” her latest recording with The Wailin’ Jennys.

Here’s a sample of Heather and Jed performing “Crazy.” 

And here’s a video of Heather on Prairie Home Companion.

TICKETS:

$15 in advance, $18 at the door, $10 Students/Children. Tickets available at the church office (729-8515), Gulf of Maine Books or online at https://masse.brownpapertickets.com/

Find the Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/268535224120616/

‘Tis the Season for Christmas Store Donations

By Leave a Comment

Tedford Housing is teaming up with Pathway Vineyard Church to provide a free Christmas Store to families once again. Families have the opportunity to “shop” the store at no cost to them. Kids are also be able to shop for parents in a special area. There will be fun crafts, Christmas movies, coffee, hot cocoa and other treats while families wait their turn to shop. 

Last year, with your support, 40 families that included 51 adults and 79 children were able to shop in the Christmas Store from Tedford Housing’s continuum of services.

Photo from the 2018 Christmas Store at Pathway Vineyard Church

Everyone will get equal access to gifts and have the opportunity to have their gifts wrapped or bring supplies home to wrap gifts themselves. We have had tremendous positive response to this dignified experience and hope you will support our efforts this year!

To help stock the store, we are looking for the following donations of new items:

Pots & Pans
Dish Sets
Towels & Washcloths
Blankets (twin & queen)
Sheet Sets
Pillows
Dish Towels
Hats & Mittens
Socks
Stocking Stuffers (for teens & adults)
Toys
Gift Cards

New, unwrapped items can be donated to Tedford Housing by Thursday, December 5th. Items can be dropped off at Tedford’s administrative office (14 Middle Street, Brunswick) between 9am and 4pm, Monday – Thursday.

To support our families during the holidays or to set up a donation drop off, contact Jennifer at 207-729-1161 #101 or email.

**Download a flyer with our holiday wish list**

An Evening with Slaid Cleaves to Benefit Tedford Housing, Oasis Free Clinics and UU Church of Brunswick

By Leave a Comment

Slaid Cleaves

Maine-raised, Texas-based singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves will perform at the Brunswick Unitarian Universalist Church on October 5th at 7:30 pm as part of the Concerts for a Cause series. Two-thirds of the net proceeds of the 2018-2019 Concerts for a Cause series will be donated to Tedford Housing and Oasis Free Clinics. 

Cleaves, who grew up in South Berwick, started playing music in local garage bands as a teenager, then went off to Tufts University to major in English and philosophy.  During his junior year abroad in Ireland, he honed his guitar and vocal skills and, in his free time became a busker—a street singer, playing the songs of his favorite musicians such as Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, and Bruce Springsteen, He also began to write some of his own songs.

After college, Cleaves became part of the Portland music scene where he quickly built a local fanbase, both as a solo act and with his band The Moxie Men.  His acoustic career took off after he moved to Austin, Texas in 1991, and he rose to national prominence in 1997 upon the release of his national debut, No Angel Knows. He has achieved national success with all his subsequent albums, 14 in all. In 1992, he was a winner of the prestigious Kerryville Folk competition.

Now twenty-seven years into his storied career, Cleaves’ songwriting has never been more potent than on his newest album Ghost on the Car Radio. The characters in Slaid Cleaves’ songs live in unglamorous reality. They work dead-end jobs, they run out of money, they grow old, they hold on to each other (or not), and they die. With an eye for the beauty in everyday life, he tells their stories, bringing a bit of empathy to their uncaring world.

Cleaves’s voice is a clear tenor with a hint of grit. He has combined his passion for folk, blues, and traditional country music into an amalgamation of styles known as Americana.

Rolling Stone called Cleaves “a master storyteller, one influenced not by the shine of pop culture but by the dirt of real life.”

Tickets:

$25 in advance, $28 at the door, $10 students/children. Available at the church office, Gulf of Maine Books, or online at https://cleaves.brownpapertickets.com/. 

Find the Facebook event here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/620118098485675/

Here’s a sample of Slaid’s music:

            Still Fighting the War:  https://youtu.be/1RoVXYKC_iU

            Little Guys:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkNypDA9qQ0

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter

MailChimp
reCAPTCHA

PO Box 958, Brunswick ME 04011